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Colorado -Same-sex Couples' Parental Rights and Challenges

When
same-sex couples share children together and only one party is documented as the legal
parent, problems can arise. For example, in the event that the legal parent
to the child dies, a relative of that legal parent, rather than the child’s
co-parent, could be appointed as guardian of the child. Or, in the scenario
that the couple separates, the legally-recognized parent could attempt
to sever all contact that the co-parent has with the child.

Since shortly after same-sex marriage became legal in the Supreme Court’s 2015
Obergefellv. Hodges decision, divorce and child custody battles have highlighted how things
can get complicated when new and old laws collide. Traditional laws used
in determining parentage are narrowly worded to protect birth mothers
and male fathers. However, in a post-Obergefell world, those laws must be interpreted in a gender-neutral way. As sweeping
as the changes following the
Obergefell decision have been, legal
parental rights are still one aspect of marriage that may not come guaranteed for same-sex couples.

Married couples who reside in states where the law is clear that children
born into a marriage have legal recognition for both parents might be
on solid ground without adopting. Yet, family law varies state by state,
which is why advice to same-sex couples may remain the same as before the
Obergefell decision came down: that non-biological parents wishing to fully ensure
legal relationships with their children may consider taking the extra
step of adopting or securing a court-ordered judgment to guarantee their
legal recognition as parents. This is especially true if the same-sex
couple is not married or if the child became part of the couple’s
world before the couple subsequently wed.

Please
contact the Domestic Team at Feldmann Nagel, LLC for all of your Family Law needs.